duncan

Yes their efforts are now making a difference. What difference ultimately will be interesting. If you read the commercial press about the BASS proposals and paper you can get a glimpse of where things are heading - can post article if others wish to see on here. Interestingly, as I hadn't picked it up from 'our' side, the fisheries minister is advising the commecial sector that he is not going anywhere near as far as the PMs TT recomendations on bass. My experiences in business suggest that we actually stand a better chance getting tope listed as a sportfish in the UK before bass because it doesn't yet have a recognised comercial value. Whilst it would be nice to have a talk from Ken shouldn't we be considering some positive support back into these groups from the club? Have we asked them what we could do?

that will be the second chokes on the carbs.......the ones your bank manager loves! glad it's going well Swanage Jazz festival over the weekend - seems a good reason to anchor upover there and maybe pop ashore for a pint at some point - anyone sees me feel free to wander over. If the BBQs on bring the mackerel!

yep landing prices are quite interesting -

All very sad..........

Will - use it for mackerel and have loads of fun when they are around adn high in the water (early/late in the day); absolutely perfect. Make sure you wash it off really well afterwards and that includes removing all the line from the reel if you want it to last. Paul - this weekend look to hook up a decent tope in the neap tides on that 'toy', nothing heavier! I had a couple over 20 on my 12lb class Normark and it was the most fun I have had on the boat this year! Good drag and carefull knots - no problem.

It will almost certailnly tow it, your stopping distance will be significant and great care should be taken approaching any braking situation - trailer brakes are at best variable over the season. Keep the obvious things clearly legal - high viz secure prop/drive bag, lights and number plate. As the police never seem to tire of saying every trailer is likely to break some regulation somehow so don't attract attention. Avoid steep slippery slips except at high water for recovery - consider sitting a couple of guys on the front wings if required! Carry a long length of strong rope with loops in either end 'just in case'.

long trip - have you got the range?

sounds very dangerous water to be out in at night if there is that much in it. i have a fixed spot on the bow of my (bigger) boat but only us it coming into the mooring area to spot the odd buoy. experience with a smaller boat and no windscreen is that you can spot things on the surface most nights with the naked eye if it's reasonably calm and you don't have anything destroying your night vision. basically if I was worried about these hazards I would be travelling slowly. A spot's not going to show it all and you could easily sink a boat very quickly hitting large objects at speed. where is this nightmare? used to get timber in the Thames, and the odd branch in the medway on big tides, but not that much.

5.8 or could do better.......... don't understand the tide bit as there was a significant tide Sunday - still at least you enjoyed the weather! poor catches on a cold December slop just don't bear thinking about.

I am struggling to understand the exact nature of your issue so, rather than ask more questions I will interpolate and risk gettign it wrong! if what you are experiencing is from an overtaking quartering sea when you are motoring then thi sis normal for many many boats. possibles ways to reduce the risk of broaching 1. speed up and get stearage way back again 2. definitely don't have the tabs down at all 3. trim the engine (drive or OB) up a bit to ensure you aren't driving down into the next wave 4. zig zag - change the angle to a more acute one then switch back to the other tack, or 5. see if the boat will run straight and true with the sea directly behind. hope this helps

matt - whilst your battery charging issue could be a lot of things I have had 2 experiences recently of this being a failed cell on one battery. This not only prevents that one charging but, unless it's seperated from the others, it will take all the charge (and do nothing with it) from any other. quick check with a hydrometer will normally show it up easily.

or you could just go fishing Kam.............. you never know it might be both cheaper and more healthy!

you are going to get a lot of contradictory responses to that question I suspect! because of the tidal factors around how we actually fish many areas and for many species you are going to get a lot of responses based as much, if not more, on when can we fish for..... than when are they feeding. examples recently would seem to be conger - charlie reported ongoign activitiy on a wreck right through the tide when he hung around one trip, and rough ground fish certainly feed right through as witnessed many times in the winter - but conventional wisdom would have them 'feeding better' on the slack. likewise tope. for rays it seems to be a function of where as well as when, and whilst there are many marks where they 'turn up' at slack water there are others where they (blondes specifically) 'come on' with a run of tide (either way). my experiences of bream suggest they like a bit of tide bass I will leave to others apart from the fact that they move around a lot with the tide, especially inshore, so it's where and when again.

nice bass............. isn't it great what you can spot when the weather turns 'nice'!

funny - I would have thought as you get to 'that age' you really don't have a lot to be careful about...........

Glad you had a good trip John, and that the plan and tactics all came together. Their are some big tope out there, looking at some of the catch reports to 50 over the last year - and at one point last year someone was loosing them faster than they were catching them with traces bitten and main lines snapped (last years 48hr?) over the VHF.

Rich the endangement of life catch all is exactly that and as such they were looking for someting more specific; and the power to enforce a test. In my opinion many people are unknowingly guilty of this most of the time they get aboard a boat - but we have all done that at some time in the past. 2 scenarios - (1) powerfull rib heads back to the Quay from Studland after a few (say 4 pints) and never exceeds 6 knots having asked his crew to keep a carefull watch around the boat at all times and wear their lifejackets. They wait until the traffic clears leaving at 1900h (2) same boat and crew and the guy (1 pint only) opens up to max leaving the 4knots buoys and slaloms his way back throught a crowded swash at 50 knots, dropping to 10 as the limits require - no lifejacktets. Might sound extreme but its probably how it happens in many real cases. You are suggesting that (1) is the party endangering life? He may be drunk in charge but he's not endangering life necessarily. Anyhow he passes the keys to his 14 year old and says 'you're in charge' and that's OK .............. Theory's sound Practice is ridiculous and may lead to more dangerous issues If you have a problem with one boating sector then deal with it. Generally we don't - Poole Harbour 2200 Sat and 1700 Sunday saw boats travelling in excess of 20 knots in the middle of it.

I am afraid it's in for us too as of last year. Believe the limit isn't defined and the penalty has to be fines (as they can't remove licences from people who don't have them!) New regulations basically gave powers for detention and testing. Will try and find some links. Whilst I am not in favour of people operating any machinery or vehicle whilst inhibited by drugs of any sort this was/is a particularily messy bit of political legislation with the RYA arguing for exemptions for sailing craft 'cos they are slow, tenders regardless of power (because the p****d skippers got to get back from the trotts) etc. Also OK if you are anchor..........issues about people not moving when conditions dictate for fear of procecution and worst of all what happens if you're anchored up for the night and someone needs help.....sorry m8 I have had 3 lagers so can't pop over and pick you up? Police and Harbour Masters etc have responded that they would expect to operate a degree of sensibility - but that confuses things more! Here's the latest update - Have your Say on Breath Tests: Latest Update April 2005 It therefore appears unlikely that any new legislation to introduce breath tests for recreational boaters will come into force in the near term. Even if the Government do decide to legislate further, then there will be a further period of consultation. The RYA will continue to monitor the situation and will respond as appropriate. We will update the website as any new information comes to light. The History of the Proposals The Government now has the power to regulate alcohol limits and introduce a testing regime for private recreational boaters. The RYA is urging all recreational boaters, regardless of whether or not they own a boat and where they go afloat, to voice their opinions on which craft and to whom regulations should apply. Part four of the Railways and Transport Safety Act, which achieved Royal Assent on the 10 th July 2003, introduced alcohol and drug legislation in respect of shipping. In particular it establishes alcohol limits and a testing regime for alcohol and drugs that will apply to mariners who are either professionals or non-professionals. In the most extreme scenario, the new law would bring in the same alcohol limit (80mg/ 100ml of blood) we currently have on UK roads for all mariners. Penalties for offenders could range from fines to up to two years in jail. If new regulations are introduced the Government is likely to exempt certain categories of recreational craft. In order to help decide which craft shall be exempted, whether or not the regulations shall only apply to the skipper of the craft and which marine officials will have the requisite powers to detain a vessel (pending the arrival of the police), the Department of Transport (DfT) has released a consultation paper. The paper identifies 3 parameters by which the exceptions will be determined. These are power, size and location. Respondents are asked to comment on these and the extent to which they believe they should be used. The Act already excludes private recreational craft that are not underway. The consultation paper also covers the detention of craft pending the arrival of police. This means that designated officials could stop and detain a recreational boater whilst waiting for the police to arrive and perform the breath test. There are obvious cost implications of these officials patrolling the waters and taking on the additional workload this responsibility creates, and the practical difficulties of detaining a vessel that may be some distance from land. The RYA believes that adequate controls in the form of harbour byelaws and regulations are already in place to deal with any abuse of alcohol. We are not in favour of further legislation, which we think is unnecessary and potentially unenforceable. The RYA is not aware of any reliable or persuasive evidence to support the claim that being under the influence of alcohol on board a private recreational craft is a significant issue that has led to a large number of incidents. However, it is likely that the results of the consultation will be interpreted into additional legislation and this is why it is essential that as many boaters respond as possible, ensuring a fair outcome. Please click here to visit the DfT

it is all going to be down to budget and priorities - and whether you can source via US easily! I am going to disagree with the focus put on colour here - this is mainly because people have gone from 128 x 128 4 greys to 320 x 320 16 colours with the latest daylight viewable technology on top! Today B&W can mean a very nice 7" combined unit with 480 x 640 daylight viewable 16 grey unit........... I am not against colour at all, I would just suggest it's a matter of priorities. Equally if you can get a high definition 7" screen then a combined unit makes sense , at the lower price end (not Charlie's!) really low, you can pick up a good basic sonar and a basic GPS for very little money. Budget?

what makes you think it's unbraked? Never seen a twin axel unbraked production trailer yet.

what time do you want picking up from the pier?

the albatross is recovering from a coma and the summer will be here for the weekend..................

some are a little too keen to bite at times - have a good break and look forward to seeing you on your return.

Yep he has the 2-40 but he also has a 10-20 and his fishing habits pretty much match your intentions..........so Alun's yer man.